Ballina, MacLean, Grafton: a few towns on the East Coast

On Sunday, 11th December, we drove straight to the town of Ballina for breakfast because our rest area was really noisy and uncomfortable. In Ballina, we found a beautiful park by the Richmond River bay where we could have a peaceful breakfast. Before finding the park, we stumbled upon a sign for the "Farmer's Market ->" and decided to check it out. The market was tiny, with maybe 10 stalls, but they had cheap passion fruits and of course, I had to buy some. They are just so delicious!

After breakfast, we took a stroll on the beach and on the stone pier. We saw a spot called the "good dolphin viewing spot" on wikicamps and thought we might see some dolphins. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, but we got to watch some surfers, which was really interesting. The surfers were really good, and since we now have some knowledge, we discussed and thought about what we could learn from them for our own attempts. We were being really professional ;)

For lunch, we drove back to the park where the market was and grilled two thick sausages on a BBQ station to make ourselves some bratwurst sandwiches. It was delicious!

In the afternoon, we went to the library to charge our devices and research about campervans for New Zealand. The library closed at 4 pm, so we headed to our rest area, called New Italy, which was in a village with maybe 3 houses (also called New Italy). There was a café and a museum with information about Italian migration to Australia. It was nicely presented, but we didn't pay much attention to the information because it didn't really interest us. In the evening, we made a delicious bell pepper and asparagus risotto for dinner. Asparagus was really cheap, and on the table, there was a sunflower that we got as a gift from Woolworths (all the other flowers in the bouquet had already wilted). It was really cozy! That was our 3rd Advent :)

The next day, we drove 30 minutes from New Italy to MacLean, a small town on the Clarence River. We went to the visitor center, but unfortunately, there was no one there, so we didn't know what we could do there. However, we still got a map of the region, and it had a lookout marked on it, so we drove there because we love lookouts. The view from up there was nice, but nothing extraordinary. We had our lunch at one of the picnic tables and then left. Down in the village, we went to the library again to do some more research about campervans. It was more complicated than we thought because during our travel time in New Zealand, it's peak season, and almost everything is booked out. We received quotes, contacted different travel agencies, and even called rental companies ourselves. They all said that vans were only available upon request, but no one could tell us for sure if they were available or not. If we had known about the high demand, we would have taken care of it earlier! Also, the prices for the cheapest van, at $130 per day, were quite steep... As we panicked more and more about not being able to get anything for that time, we thought about just renting a regular car and camping. But then we would have to buy camping equipment in New Zealand. Moreover, there were problems with the ferry ride from the North to the South Island with these rental companies. Then we even considered shipping our own car to New Zealand. However, that would have required a lot of organization, even though the price difference wasn't that big. In the end, all we could do was wait for responses from the people we contacted about a van. Waiting is the worst...

In the late afternoon, we drove another 60 km to Grafton, where we stayed at a rest area located right by the road, which made it quite noisy. There were also trucks coming into the parking lot, and they were even louder when they were stationary. Despite that, we made time for a workout and some yoga in the evening, and I showed Andi the sun salutation. It was really nice! For dinner, we had delicious tuna wraps with Peri Peri mayonnaise, salad, and Parmesan cheese. Yum! During the night, we had to close the trunk because of the noise, but it turned out to be a good idea because it was quite cold. We're now entering a region where it can get pretty chilly at night!

The next day, we were about to have breakfast, and we had everything set up when a man approached our table. He started a friendly conversation, and we thought he was just curious and talkative like Australians can be sometimes, but he had a different intention: to convince us about the end of the world and a new system, because he was a Jehovah's Witness. We thought: oh no, and that already at breakfast. We couldn't escape. But it wasn't as bad as we expected because the elderly man was actually quite sweet and just wanted to tell us a few things. While he talked, we ate and listened to his ideas. Occasionally, we made a comment or (as you know Andi) asked a critical question, and he answered openly. For example, he said that in the new system, everyone would be equal, but he had to admit limitations when Andi brought up homosexuality. Overall, Peter (that was his name) probably spent half an hour at our table, promising us a better world, leaving us two magazines in the end, and then returning to his two colleagues. I think we made him really happy because we listened attentively, and that was worth it.

After Peter left, we were pretty much done with breakfast. We packed our stuff and drove into Grafton. Since we wanted to shower again, we went to a public swimming pool, where, for just $3.50 (student discount) per person, we not only got a warm shower but also access to a swimming pool and a diving platform. Considering that we would have paid $4 just for a shower somewhere else, this was a good deal! We really enjoyed swimming, and after 20 laps, we jumped into the water from the 1-meter and 3-meter platforms a few times. Unfortunately, the 5-meter platform was closed; otherwise, we would have tried that too. Jumping is just fun!

After showering, we drove to a nearby park, which amusingly was called Seepark because there was a small lake there. We had our leftover wraps for lunch at one of the picnic tables and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. Then, we went to the library again. There, we were recognized by one of the employees, who had worked at the MacLean Library the day before. All the libraries belong to the Clarence Valley Libraries, so it seems like the employees sometimes change workplaces. It was somehow funny :D

In the evening, we went to the Halfway Creek Rest Area, which consisted of a gas station and a large field at the edge of the forest where you could camp. It was nice there because we weren't right next to the road and had some shade from the trees. For dinner, we had delicious bell pepper beef stew, and as we went to the gas station to brush our teeth, we even saw a kangaroo grazing with its baby. So cute!

The next day, we drove to Coffs Harbour, but I will write a separate entry about our experiences there because we did more things :)